


Inspector's Daughter

by TheNightComesDown



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: 1920s, Birmingham, F/M, Gangsters, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Small Heath
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 05:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17094677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNightComesDown/pseuds/TheNightComesDown
Summary: This fic was previously submitted to and posted by Tumblr user johnsheiby, as I didn't want my writing on my own page. It has since been edited slightly.





	Inspector's Daughter

As the morning fires were lit in Small Heath, you trudged through the thick mud of Birmingham. An old drunk with stained trousers was passed out against a wall, an empty bottle clenched in his hand. You shook your head sadly. _Wish this place would clean up a bit, _you thought to yourself. You lifted your skirt above your boots to keep it clean, and glanced down at the mucky ground. As you looked up, you saw an officer in uniform down the lane. Panicked, you glanced about for an alley you could duck into, but the man recognized you before you could make your escape.__  


“Y/N!” Officer Moore called out. “What’re you doing in these parts, and so early in the morning?” You scrambled for an excuse. “I was staying with a girlfriend for the night, she lives closer to the office than our place is.” He raised an eyebrow and frowned sceptically. “I hope you invent better lies for your father, Y/N, or you’ll be in deep next time you spend the night out here. He’s not daft, your father,” Moore warned.  


“Not sure what you mean, Officer Moore,” you replied coyly. “You’ve known me forever, so you should know I don’t tell lies.” Moore stared at you for a moment and sighed deeply. His eyes stopped on your blouse, and to your horror, you looked down and realized that you were missing two buttons.  


“I hope you know what you’re doing, Y/N,” Officer Moore said. He gestured down the street, and you tried to smile as you walked past him. Once you were out of sight, you allowed yourself to breathe again. _You’ve got to leave earlier next time, _you scolded yourself. _It won’t do to have street patrol report you to your father. He’d be furious.___

___As you passed the Garrison, you peered into the windows. The bar was clear of glasses, and the tables were empty. Your mind flashed back to the night before, when you had spent hours sitting in the corner, watching Thomas Shelby sip at his whisky.  
_ _ _

___***_ _ _

___As the hour passed midnight, you had gone to the toilet, and returned to find the dapper, dark-haired man seated at your corner table. “Sorry, Mr. Shelby,” you had murmured, “I’ll just grab my glass and go,” but you couldn’t move when his eyes met yours. His icy stare held you fast, and you couldn’t tell whether he was angry, or just plain curious. He gestured to the chair across from his own.  
_ _ _

___“Have a seat.” You seated yourself cautiously, and Thomas rolled his eyes and smirked at your worried expression. “Come now, you know I wouldn’t hurt you,” he said, and you feigned a smile.  
_ _ _

___Your father had warned you about the Shelby family. _“Nothing but gangsters who’ll cut you ear to ear if you give them the chance,” _he always said. The other girls at the switchboard office had tittered on and on about Thomas’s brothers, the young and handsome John, and the older, more _experienced _Arthur, but Thomas, more serious and reserved than most young men, intrigued you. After meeting you a few months before, he had your dress off in the back room of the bar before realizing who you were. Since then, you had avoided the Garrison like the plague. Tonight, however, your father was out of town on business, and you built up the courage to return.  
_____ _ _

___You sat in silence for what felt like ages before Thomas nodded towards the bar. The blonde barmaid brought over another pint for you, and replaced Thomas’s empty glass with an inch of Irish whisky.  
_ _ _

___“Now tell me,” Thomas said, placing a cigarette between his lips, “why the lovely daughter of a well-known Chief Inspector is sitting in a dark corner of my brother’s pub, watching me as I try to drink in peace.” You lifted the pint of beer to your lips, and took a long sip.  
_ _ _

___“Needed a night out, and this was as far from home as I could get,” you answered, shrugging. Thomas cocked his head to the side, considering your response. Shaking his head, he took the cigarette out of his mouth, clasped his hands on the table and leaned toward you. He lifted a finger and beckoned you forward until your foreheads almost touched. He grasped your face with one hand and moved his mouth to your ear._ _ _

___“Don’t fucking lie to me,” he growled. He released you, and leaned back against the wall. He lit his cigarette, inhaled deeply, and blew the smoke toward you. After he took another drag, he passed the cigarette to you. You glanced at it for a moment, and gripping it with two fingers, you inhaled lightly. The smoke made you cough, and Thomas nearly laughed aloud. He plucked the cigarette from between your fingers, and put it back between his lips.  
_ _ _

___“Trying to be a bit of a rebel but not succeeding,” he mused. “Your first drink of the night, then, eh?” You nursed your beer protectively, but he saw through you. “Finish that up, and I’ll walk you home. You can’t be here,” he said, his eyes wandering around the room behind her. _No police here, _you thought to yourself.  
___ _ _

___“I’m not ready to go yet,” you protested, but Thomas stood and put a hand beneath your arm, pulling you gently out of your seat. “What the hell, Thomas?” you started to say, but he leaned in and whispered, “Not here, Y/N.” Annoyed, you left your beer half-full on the table, and followed Thomas toward the bar counter. He placed two coins on the counter and tipped his cap at the blonde barmaid, whose eyes burned with envy as Thomas pulled you out the door._ _ _

______  
A ring of men was congregated outside the pub, and two strapping lads threw punches at each other as the men around them called out encouragement. Thomas kept his hand round your upper arm, and pulled you into an alley outside the Garrison. He locked eyes with you, and advanced toward you until your back was up against the soot-covered brick wall.  


___“Now what the hell do you want, eh?” he asked gruffly, looking you up and down. “Your father put you up to this? Spying on fellas just having a night at the pub?” He was in youe face, and his chest was only an inch or two from your own. You stared bravely into his piercing eyes, and looked away only to glance down at his lips. When you met his eyes again, his gaze had faltered, and his expression was slightly confused. “What are you playing at, Y/N?” he said softly, and you slowly reached a hand out and slipped your fingers between the buttons of his vest. He glanced down at your fingers, and back up to your eyes again before you pulled him toward you and met his lips with your own.  
_ _ _

___His mouth was warm, and you tasted tobacco and aged whisky on his tongue. Almost as soon as the kiss had started, he pulled away. “No,” he said sternly, shaking his head, “none of that, now”. Confused, you put your hands on your hips.  
_ _ _

___“You kissed me back!” you cried.  
_ _ _

___“No, I wouldn’t have done that,” he shook his head, pointing a finger at you. “I’m a smart man, and I don’t kiss girls who have police inspectors for fathers.” You walked toward him, and he caught your shoulders in his hands. He held you at an arm’s length, and stared incredulously at you. “What in the hell are you doing, Y/N? Trying to get me arrested? Small Heath’s fucking crawling with coppers at this hour.” He stood between you and the alley’s exit, but you brushed past him and walked out into the street. You walked quickly away from the Garrison, and you heard footsteps behind you.  
_ _ _

___“Bloody hell,” Thomas hissed as he caught up with you. “What do you want, Y/N? Out with it, then.” He walked beside you, trying to keep a few feet’s distance, in case anyone recognized you.  
_ _ _

___“I want you to take me home,” you replied, continuing down the street toward Watery Lane. Your own house was over a mile away in the opposite direction, a fact Thomas was very aware of. “Take you home?” Thomas spluttered. “You want me to…” he glanced behind himself, and ran a hand through his hair. “Y/N, I am the last man on earth you should be concerning yourself with,” he said, exasperated. “Why don’t you find a nice young lad who isn’t a Blinder, and have a nice night out with him?”  
_ _ _

___“I don’t want some silly boy from uptown,” you said, frustrated. “You know what I want, Thomas.” He trailed behind you, and stopped. You turned to see him standing in the middle of the street.  
_ _ _

___“What about John, eh?” he asked, throwing his arms out. “You want to be with someone a little dangerous, who’ll make you feel like you’re living on the edge? I’ll introduce you to John. Hell, even Arthur’d be better than…” he trailed off.  
_ _ _

___“I don’t want John or Arthur, and you know it,” you retorted, and you spun around and continued toward the betting shop. You could see it up the lane, but you knew Thomas would never let you into the shop, even for a cup of tea. The street was deserted, and the windows of every house were shuttered for the night. You were only a hundred yards from the door of the shop when you felt Thomas’s hand on your shoulder. You turned and opened your mouth to protest again, but you didn’t have the chance. Thomas pulled you into a deep kiss, and wove his hand into your hair to prolong it. When you pulled away, he held onto your hair and kept your face close to his.  
_ _ _

___“You know better than this,” he breathed, “and so do I.” You placed a hand on his chest and slowly moved it down toward his thigh. His breath caught in his throat, and without another thought, he grabbed your hand and guided you to the back door of the betting shop. He locked the door behind him, and pulled you up the stairs. As soon as you reached the top, his mouth was on yours again, and you fumbled with the buttons of his vest. He closed the door of his bedroom, and pushed you up against the door. You let out a small whimper as his mouth went to your neck, and his hands quickly undid the buttons of your blouse. You heard a button hit the floor, but paid no attention to it.  
_ _ _

___“This is a bad idea,” he reiterated as he undid the back of your skirt, but it was too late for either of you to change your minds. In the kitchen below, Polly sipped her tea by the light of a candle, and rolled her eyes as Thomas’s bedframe sagged and groaned beneath you. You tried to keep quiet, but Thomas had no such qualms.  
_ _ _

___***_ _ _

___As you slipped out the door the next morning, you caught sight of Polly sitting at the table. The purple bags under her eyes told you that she was acutely aware of your visit, and you cursed yourself again for having stayed so late. Thankful that your father was out of town for the weekend, you hurried home under cover of the thick morning fog.  
_ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was previously submitted to and posted by Tumblr user johnsheiby, as I didn't want my writing on my own page. It has since been edited slightly.


End file.
